Karthikeyan Murali is two-time national champion.
In a remarkable chess feat, the 24-year-old Indian chess grandmaster, Karthikeyan Murali, delivered a stunning blow to the world's number one player, Magnus Carlsen. Karthikeyan's victory in the classical chess format at the ongoing Qatar Masters marked only the third instance where an Indian player emerged triumphant against Carlsen.
Karthikeyan's win occurred in the seventh round of the tournament, where he skillfully wielded the black pieces. With this significant triumph, he joined the ranks of other leading players such as SL Narayan, Javokhir Sindarov, David Paravyan, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nodirbek Yakubboev, all of whom held a remarkable score of 5.5 out of 7.
This two-time national champion hailing from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, displayed flawless gameplay and adeptly compensated for a draw against Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran in the tournament's sixth round.
The third Indian to beat Magnus Carlsen
According to the chessbase, Karthikeyan Murali has become the third Indian chess player to defeat Magnus Carlsen in a classical game. He joins Pentala Harikrishna, who defeated Carlsen in 2005 when Carlsen was 14 years old, and Viswanathan Anand, the only other Indian player to have defeated Carlsen.